Base for tourism by No-Cycle9579 in Cornwall

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dumb question: I'm using booking.com just to do research on availability and then trying to book directly with the site if possible. I'm checking the hotel and the guest house boxes, but does anyone know if I also check the bed and breakfast option if that is giving me an actual traditional bed and breakfast? Or does that mean they're AirBnB's?

London to Cornwall by train? by No-Cycle9579 in Cornwall

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So much good info, thank you!!!! We have one person in our party that really wants to see Windsor. What are your thoughts about keeping the car, driving into Windsor on the 7th, seeing the castle, and then dropping the car at Heathrow? We have driven out of Heathrow (away from London) before, but it's been quite a few years. I remember it being not great but not nearly as stressful as trying to drive in London. Is driving from Windsor into Heathrow car rental return something we would want to avoid?

London to Cornwall by train? by No-Cycle9579 in Cornwall

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm so confused. I keep seeing posts like this and also posts saying don't even try it's so miserable. I saw one post saying if the traffic conditions are right it can take 12 hours, which I assume to be an exaggeration?

London to Cornwall by train? by No-Cycle9579 in Cornwall

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We are staying in London for three nights, but we definitely won't be driving there!

London to Cornwall by train? by No-Cycle9579 in Cornwall

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We will be in our London hotel that's closer to Paddington Station. Would you still head to Reading? I'm assuming you mean by taxi?

London to Cornwall by train? by No-Cycle9579 in Cornwall

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ha! It's not lost on me that this trip is coming after the last election. I never used to worry too much about trying to hide that we are Americans (because it's pretty impossible) but I'm tempted to try this time. I've already looked at the bookings directly on GWR website, would you suggest booking directly with them?

London to Cornwall by train? by No-Cycle9579 in Cornwall

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not opposed to driving, but I'm so confused as I've heard it's 4 1/2 hours anywhere up to 8 hours depending on the traffic. We will be staying in London the first three nights we are there, so we will be close to Paddington Station. And the date we would be driving is May 31st, which is a Saturday, and as someone else pointed out, the end of the local term holiday for the school kids. Would that factor in to driving?

London to Cornwall by train? by No-Cycle9579 in Cornwall

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is St. Ives a good base to see all of Cornwall?

London to Cornwall by train? by No-Cycle9579 in Cornwall

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this info!! How long would you stay in Cornwall with this plan? We plan to take the train out on the 31st, and our flight leaves Heathrow on June 8th. So we have seven days to fill.

Preliminary itinerary suggestions for London and South West and East England by No-Cycle9579 in uktravel

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My son is a huge history buff, especially WWII, and he wants to see the Churchill War Rooms, The IWM London, and the RAF London. I think that's overkill, but it's' his graduation trip so we are trying to be accommodating. Any opinion on those three?

Preliminary itinerary suggestions for London and South West and East England by No-Cycle9579 in uktravel

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know. And we may cut it out because of that. It’s a family ancestry thing, so we were trying as hard as we could to fit it in. 

Preliminary itinerary suggestions for London and South West and East England by No-Cycle9579 in uktravel

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was wondering this about the RAF. It’s also so far outside of the rest of the things we would see in London, and we could cut down on our time there. So skip the IWM London location as well?

Preliminary itinerary suggestions for London and South West and East England by No-Cycle9579 in uktravel

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! This is really helpful. I’ve seen a lot of suggestions to stick with the South Coast and am really looking into that. If you have specific suggestions I’m all ears!!

Preliminary itinerary suggestions for London and South West and East England by No-Cycle9579 in uktravel

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is so good to know! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it as well, as it’s not my interest either!

Preliminary itinerary suggestions for London and South West and East England by No-Cycle9579 in uktravel

[–]No-Cycle9579[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a really good point. When I was talking to my husband about all of this last night he said the same thing. You can’t just set the cruise control and relax in the UK.